David Heinemeier Hansson, the brains behind Ruby on Rails is impressed as well. “Dismissing it as merely a 3rd computer vanity accessory, as I’ve seen many do, is misguided and not based on actually using one for a longer period of time,” he writes.

Of course, there is the other view. Being less of a web-app zealot as others, I am still on the fence on this one, and even after using the Macbook Air for close to two weeks, I still can’t make up my mind – whether to keep using it as my only machine or pair it with the MacBook.

61 Responses to “Is MacBook Air good enough to be your only computer?”

I doubt you can call the mac mini a failure by any means. Worked well for what it was – a non-intrusive secondary machine for Mac users, a great first time Mac for people on the fence, and a perfect budget Mac for those with basic needs (think pre-teens, seniors).

If after 2 weeks, you’re still not sure if you like it, then there’s your answer – it doesn’t make the grade. I’ll bet you’re trying to find reasons to like it more – a telltale sign that it’s a dog that should be returned. I love reading all of the “It’s awesome, but it’s not for me” comments and reviews. All show, no substance, a trend that will lead to Jobs’ demise, despite his brainwashed minions buying anything to keep the kool-aid factory churning away with their next fix. I predict it will ultimately be thrown onto the scrap heap next to the Mac Mini – incredibly beautiful, but worthless…

The Macbook Air is fine for those who use it for light computing. That’s like 75% or more of us. The Lenovo is $1000 more, so what’s the comparison? People want more, but you pay more if you want extra. Leave the MBA alone, it’s a nice notebook for what it’s worth. These are the same people complaining about missing their floppy when it disappeared. Get over it.

I think the Air can be a primary system for those who don’t really need much performance ability. I practically live off of my computer and the Air could only be a secondary system for me- which I think is going to be the case for a lot of people. I’m not going to pay that price for a secondary system. I’d rather just have an Asus Eee with a good SD card as a secondary and focus the money on the primary system.

I still believe it would be great addition of tools for people who is constantly on the move and have a wireless connection everywhere.

Just one thing that is bugging my mind, Apple would release this product tho the countries that doesn’t have an iTunes store available yet. Does this meant that the people in that particular country had to buy the external super drive just to say, enjoys movie?

I had a macbook air for about 5 hours, then decided to drop it because it was slower than my MBP 2.16 Intel Core Duo with 2GB of ram. I really wanted to keep the MBA, but it just wasn’t fast enough …it’s on eBay, so if it doesn’t sell, maybe I’ll give it a second chance — I’m just worried about them releasing a new macbook pro and giving me all sorts of buyer’s remorse:

Don’t think it’d work for me. I am A) a graduate student, and B) an online marketing specialist-my life and livelihood are currently stored within the confines of my main computer. But I’m thinking it might make a nice summer home! How is it for digital imaging software? I do a lot of image work with photos, and I’ve always found that a mac computer performs better at these functions.
ChaseRandomized Fodder

I think the issue with the MBA is that people were expecting a machine with good specs (something that’d be more like MBP)… Thing is, most people don’t play games and don’t do video or photo editing (professionally). As more and more apps become available in a Web format, the need to have a strong machine is not necessary(talking for me obviously). To come back to the specs thing, Leopard is much lighter than Vista. The only comparison that can be made is btw apple notebooks themselves though they are not intended for the same market: MBP => Gamers and Video/Photo editors MBA => Everyday user that likes portability and simplicity MB => girls lol

Since I only do web stuff and programming… I think the MBA is going to be the perfect fit. + it’s going to look nice in meetings… lol

I’ve been enjoying it as my primary laptop, 80/60gb should be fine for any portable as long as you can manage your data and just keep what you need on it. Just wish it didn’t take so long to recharge! My air typically takes 4 hours to top up from empty each time.

The primary thing that is holding me back from getting the Air is battery life. What’s been your read on the battery issue? Does it really matter to you? As a frequent flyer, this is probably the big one for me.

i am slowly moving away from my imac to just this air. that may be b/c its tax season and i dont want to go into my office. we’ll see. still use the imac as home machine for itunes and archival stuff though.

I am a window user and i still think that the Air is a totally different animal. the X300 is slower, heavier, thicker, having less RAM, being made of cheap plastic, more expensive (base models), uglier, but oh, it has an optical drive.

I like it as well, though video and music happen to be my biggest space and power consumption issues. I still prefer a nice disk drive with tons of storage space. That said, can’t beat the weight and elegance of the machine.

It’s my sole system and I haven’t had an issue with it since it arrived. Then again, my needs are limited – web and Office, occasionally light photo editing and iTunes. I still have 30 gb free on my SSD drive even with Office 08, IWork and a few other apps installed.